Foodie. Feminist. Wanderluster.

Why You Should Buy Books from a Charity Shop

As much as I’m the kind of reader who aims to finish a book with it looking as close to bookshop-shelf worthy as possible, I totally get why people like books to look as “loved” as possible. (Although I will NEVER understand why people bend their covers back *shudders*.) I love a dip into a charity shop to check out what their shelves have to offer. Aaron and I visited the lovely Arundel last week and, upon spotting a Cancer Research UK shop, I was keen to scan their selection of books.

But before I talk you through what I did find, why should you buy at least some of your books from a charity shop this year?

Charity shops are the perfect place to find absolute gems; whether that’s last year’s biggest read or a novel you’d have never have even come across when scrolling through Amazon or scanning Waterstone’s inviting selection.

There is something magical about reading a book that’s already been read, maybe even more than once. Charity shop book-shopping allows you into other people’s homes (in the least creepy and literal way possible) to see what they’ve read and loved or even hated before it ended up in the very grateful hands of a charity shop.

Charity shop book finds are so cheap! So what better excuse to pick up a handful?! Well, better than their modest price is the fact your money will be going to a brilliant cause. You get to test out a new author or a well-loved book knowing your money has done some good.

Three new novels

Well, not exactly new.

I bought these three books from Cancer Research UK last weekend, all a little loved and definitely read but still very intact. I bought all three for a little over five pound and if that’s not a Sunday win, I’m not sure what is. But let me briefly talk you through the three books that called my name last Sunday morning.

Ben Again by Ben Clench

Ben Again is “the inspirational memoir of traumatic brain injury survivor Ben Clench.” Following a tragic incident whereby Ben and his girlfriend Jazz were hit by a car in the Domincan Republic, Jazz lost her life and Ben suffered a severed head injury. This is the real-life story of Ben overcoming his head injury and getting his life back.

Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

Before We Met is a thriller about Hannah Reilly and what happens after the day her husband doesn’t come home. The blurb says little more and, since I’ve recently fallen head over heels in love with the thriller genre, I felt like this was meant to be.

Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet

In Love in Infant Monkeys Lydia Millet challenges the representation of animals in fiction; the tendency for them to be author stand-ins or even “symbols of good and evil.” In her collection of stories, Millet allows animals to take centre stage and tell us new stories.

I highly recommend you check out your local charity shops to see what reads you can add to your Goodreads this year. Even better, you could read what you pick up and drop it right back off after so a wonderful charity can benefit even further from this book!